Four towns are
analyzed in relation to their homicide rates: two in Brazil and two in Argentina.
In both countries, a location with high homicide rates and another with low
rates were studied over the same three-year period. The theoretical approach
used was that of complex systems, which considers a connection between the local
system, with its internal interconnections, the influence of the external context
and psychic coupling, that is, the interpenetration of the social system and
subjectivities. The analysis of the common points between the cases was performed
via qualitative research with observation, interviews and focus groups. The
results show that in both the locations which concentrate high homicide rates
and those presenting low rates there is synergy between the external environment
(macrosocial and macroeconomic policies), the social system (social organization,
local government, community participation) and subjectivity, whether in the
construction of solidarity or in social disintegration. Studies about changes
in violent social systems show that persistent, coordinated actions that connect
economic, social and educational investments with measures to prevent and curb
homicide have historically presented a positive impact.

Key words:
Homicide, External causes, Violence prevention

Introduction

In this article,
we try to answer the following question: why do certain social spaces (here
considered as ecosystemic nuclei) present different and opposing homicide rates
during constant periods? To follow this path, we performed a rereading of four
case studies carried out in medium-sized towns in two countries Brazil and Argentina
within an ecosystemic view of the phenomenon.

From the perspective
of the theory of complex social systems, we understand an ecosystemic view to
refer to a central nucleus an ecosystem is always arbitrarily defined that is
closed upon its permanently interacting structures and elements. This common
nucleus is surrounded by an external environment which, while differing from
it, also recognizes its specificity. And it is coupled (which in Luhmann's1
view means interpenetrated without confusing itself with) a psychic system (of
identification of people) whose organization has its own rules, but is affected
by the main nucleus's devices and affects it recursively. We highlight that
there is a dynamic relationship between these three spheres, which do not however
dissolve into one another: they interact and strengthen each other1.
Each of the four cases is here seen as a social system that influences and is
influenced by the inhabitants' subjectivity and is related to the external context.

Some theories try
to explain the relationship between certain social spaces and high or low homicide
and crime rates. The oldest of these is the so-called Disorganization Theory,
developed by authors such as Thomas and Znanieki2. These researchers
showed how rapid economic and population growth and intense internal migration
in the city of Chicago in the early 20th century brought about the
disintegration and disorganization of traditional social forces, creating an
ideal environment for increased crime. The thesis of Disorganization Theory2-4
is that participation in community activities develops a sense of belonging
in people, which then reinforces social cohesion and curbs crimes and delinquencies.
Social disorganization, on the other hand, occurs when a community is unable
to attain common goals and solve problems such as poverty, territorial deterioration,
excessive residential mobility, ethnic heterogeneity and weak communication
ties.

Disorganization
Theory fell into disuse because it presented a very simplified scheme for reality
analysis. However, it gained new momentum in the last two decades of the 20th
century following works by some authors5,6 who created a systemic
model that incorporated the interference of internal and external factors on
social spaces7. Internal factors are informal control, social ties,
social capital and local culture; external ones are the formal control exerted
by security bodies, social policies and economic policy.

Method

The research that
gave origin to this article was performed in four locations, two in Argentina
and two in Brazil. The places were chosen according to the following criteria:
(1) towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants, excluding capitals; (2) two in
each country, with different homicide profiles: one with high rates and a trend
towards growth, at least in the last three years; another with low rates and
a trend towards decline; (3) for the selection, we performed a preliminary analysis
of deaths by homicide and external causes in capitals, metropolitan regions
and towns in Brazil and provinces and towns in Argentina from 1980 to 2007.

For the group with
a falling homicide rate (3.5/100,000 inhabitants) and improved information quality
in the last three years, we selected the towns of Jaguará do Sul, in
the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, and San Rafael, in Mendoza, Argentina (3.9/100,000
inhabitants). To represent the group with high rates and an increase in the
last three years, we selected the towns of Paulista, in the state of Pernambuco,
Brazil (55.1/100,000) and Venado Tuerto (4.5/100,000), in General Lopez department,
Santa Fé province, Argentina.

We highlight that
Brazil as a whole and most of its towns have much higher homicide rates than
Argentine towns. However, we sought to preserve the same abovementioned criteria
to analyze common points and differences, between the towns themselves and within
the countries. Based on epidemiological studies and in dialogue with these,
we worked with the qualitative approach of case studies8, seeking
to look at the crime and homicide phenomenon from various angles. But the emphasis
of the case studies was on observing local dynamics and on residents' perception.

The case studies
emphasized only the interviewees' discursive aspects with respect to the problem
in question: public security officers, welfare officers, counselors (in Brazil),
police officers, community leaders, primary and high school teachers, health
care professionals working in basic care, students, religious young people,
young people in conflict with the law and family members of young people and
journalists covering crimes (Argentina).

The results are
presented according to analysis categories which, despite the differences in
approach, can be examined in all four situations: the internal dynamic of the
community and its different actors; attribution of causes of the situation for
homicides and crime; and perspectives for the future and for change.

For the ecosystemic
analysis, we used some concepts developed by researchers who work with the specificities
of social spaces in relation to violence and crime: "social capital",
"collective efficacy" and "reciprocity effects", understanding
them within a binary polarity, that is, the three concepts can be used to explain
both the presence and the absence of solidarity and social interaction1.

By "social
capital" we understand the possession of intangible resources, produced
in the relationships between people, which facilitate mutually-beneficial social
action9. The concept of "symbolic efficacy" highlights
the importance of the ability to act developed by a given community, which largely
depends on mutual trust and solidarity between citizens to create effective
control and social cohesion networks10. And the concept of "reciprocity
effect" believes that the location's structure and the residents' subjectivity
influences and are influenced by crime or by healthy relationships in a recursive
way1.

Results

Internal dynamics
of the two Brazilian towns

Paulista has twice
the population of Jaguará do Sul (300,466 and 143,123 inhabitants respectively).
In the latter, the Gini index (0.38), the HDI (0.855), and the GDP (2,979,318
billion reals in 2008) are substantially better, and the percentage of poor
people (5.1) is six times lower, as is the illiteracy rate (1.2). In Paulista,
during the same period, the data showed a GDP of 1,612,924 billion, despite
the population being double; the Gini index was 0.55; the HDI, 0.799; the percentage
of poor people, 30.4%; and the illiteracy rate, 6.0.

Other indicators
of infrastructure, education and health do not vary as much. However, the adjusted
homicide rates for the last three years are 15 times higher in Paulista (55.1/100,000)
when compared to Jaraguá do Sul (3.5/100,000).

In Paulista, much
more than in Jaraguá do Sul, there are demographic (accelerated population
growth) and economic instability, high unemployment rates, high poverty rates,
as well as high rates of inequality, under-employment and income deterioration
for formal workers. The qualitative research shows the internal and external
elements of this differentiation more intensely.

As a whole, all
the Paulista interviewees perceive and mention the high risk of being murdered
in the town, and this problem is discussed in a rather fatalistic manner: this
is the way, let yourself die, I'm already a [potential]corpse (young
person's family member) as something that marks the local identity, which is
in turn echoed by the media: everyone lives in fear here.

Another association
with crime, mentioned by welfare workers and educators, is the unstructured
family, whose parental figures of authority are weak or morally negative: parents
and relatives are absent, or involved with crime and prostitution, which makes
them incapable of imposing moral limits on children: abandonment within the
home itself, within the family itself, is a terribly strong factor (Welfare
Secretary).

A third element
that many interviewees associate with the excessive number of homicides is the
growing population density (a population that in the 1970s was of 57,000 inhabitants
now exceeds 300,000), with an enormous proportion of poor people, which they
consider to be a product of failed economic periods (first, a long sugar cane
cycle, and then a textile factory one) followed, currently, by intense real
estate speculation. These processes, according to young people, community leaders
and long-time residents, have brought chronic unemployment, underemployment
and informality among the poor population, with low-quality homes, limited use
of urban infrastructure and low value given to formal education. The high percentage
of poor people (30.4%) and unemployed, according to the authorities interviewed,
leads to the lack of circulation of financial resources in the town: it is
a highly populated town, the population's financial conditions are low and there
is a damaged condition of access to job opportunities and education, which means
that this set of factors strongly influences [young people's]entrance
into crime (mayor's chief of staff).

Various sectors
have been tackling the high homicide rates, although the actions occur within
the scope and conception of public security as policing: increased numbers of
police officers, expanded and improved intelligence equipment and management
integration. There are some specific programs for young people, such as "Agentes
da Paz" (Peace Agents), which acts in preventive policing and "Pacto
pela Vida" (Pact for Life), which proposes health promotion actions. There
are many other governmental projects in place in the town, such as vocational
courses, leisure activities, expansion of the Saúde da Família
(Family Health) Strategy and the Bolsa Família (Family Benefit) program
for the neediest residents.

In spite of all
the governmental interventions, residents find it difficult to obtain results,
as the homicide victims usually poor young people and adults do not belong to
a specific group. Their socioeconomic conditions, as well as their educational
conditions, are similar to those of the other residents. Some young people expressed
themselves thus in a focal group: there are a lot of poor people, without
means, a low teaching quality and a high school dropout rate, although,
as everywhere else in the country, access to primary education is universal.

One matter which
is often interpreted simplistically by those who propose to prevent violence
is leisure in Paulista. Access to this important asset for any community has
been linked to higher homicide rates by young people and police officers. They
say that places and dates for commemorative events and spaces like nightclubs
are the stage for disputes between "gangs" and score settling between
rival criminal factions. Most homicides are committed in situations where
young people go out to nightclubs and also to take drugs (student).

Prisoners being
released to visit their families during commemorative dates is also mentioned
as a potential crime facilitator: on weekends when they let out prisoners
in a semi-open regime, and on commemorative dates, the number of crimes goes
up, as does the residents' feeling of insecurity ( ) There are a
lot of homicides at prison exits (police officers).

The weakness of
the churches, especially the Catholic Church, was also pointed out, although
some young people referred to the positive effects of the leisure gatherings
and social events held under the protection of religious environments. Within
the family scope, the negative aspect of physical and psychological violence
was especially emphasized, along with child exploitation and abandonment (even
with present parents), as facilitators of crime and obstacles to socialization
and school learning. The wrong family, a drunk mother, a drunk father, an
addict child is a child let loose in the street, he could be 10 years old, then
someone comes and says: let's kill him!(student). The deaths occur among
drug users with low levels of schooling, but there are also many homicides due
to bar fights, quarrels among couples, jealousy, sexual abuse of women and rape.

A community leader
in Paulista summed up the local situation thus: we have been noticing that
it is a system ( )of an absence of actions and consequences of
actions that have contributed to this situation. This is a wise systemic
synthesis which is supported by studies of locations with high crime rates.

The situation in
Paulista has been emphasized in this text because it could be seen as exemplifying
the complexity of social and subjective processes acting in homicide occurrences:
it is not only demographic, economic, social, health, education and environmental
indicators that explain the worsening and persistence of violence per se. To
understand them, it is also necessary to enter the local history, culture and
representations, where not only customs are reproduced but beliefs and identifications
also corroborate them.

Jaraguá
do Sul has a population of 143,123 inhabitants, which, as in Paulista,
is mostly made up of young people and adults aged up to 49. Its homicide rate
has been at 3.5/100,000 over the last three years. Its HDI is higher than the
one for Brazil and the state of Santa Catarina and it has a very small proportion
of poor people (5.1%). It has a better income distribution than Paulista and
the national average. It has diverse industrial and economic activities, including
tourism. Its unemployment rate is only 2.15%, which, from the economic point
of view, is considered full employment. Likewise, its illiteracy rate is low
(1.2% of the population), and the school and health care network is quite solid
(in Paulista, the network is also significant, not in quality but in dimensions).

Homicides do not
constitute a problem for residents. The few events that have occurred are remembered
with names and circumstances and generally attributed to the so-called traditional
causes, such as violence between intimate partners, jealousy and bar fights.
Other questions stand out as more relevant, like traffic deaths. However, the
same concern with drugs and alcohol that exists in Paulista can be found here:
Our problems today have more to do with drugs and alcoholism. Crack is very
strong among teenagers. (Counselor).

To explain the
town's calm atmosphere, residents present various factors: quality of life,
wide offer of formal jobs, ostensive policing, trust in institutions, solid
family bases, religion, work culture and business spirit: people here work
hard and don't have time to think about that[committing homicides].
There are a lot of jobs here and anyone who wants to work can work (young
person). These arguments were presented with a greater or lesser emphasis by
all the interlocutors. In the interviews, the authorities called attention to
their investments in health and education and also attributed an important role
to "German" culture, directed at material progress. Many of the people
heard used different words to refer to the culture of a hard-working, peaceful,
non-violent people with little taste for parties and gatherings (educator's
quote).

These factors,
seen as qualities, demonstrate on the other hand a society quite closed in its
system, which is especially highlighted by young people in conflict with the
law. They complained a lot about excessive control, lack of freedom and permanent
vigilance on behalf of residents and police officers. For their part, the residents
attributed the evils that exist in Jaraguá do Sul, such as poverty, crime
and drug use, to the presence of immigrants from other states and locations:
We have some neighborhoods here in the periphery that are a bit complicated,
which are drug sales points, it's people who came from outside. They came especially
from Paraná (counselor).

One point that
was raised by almost everyone to show the internal cohesion of their social
system was the weight of the various councils, the community associations and
the citizens' own vigilance: People are very solidary and are always alert.
If they suspect anything, they don't remain quiet. They demand that measures
be taken (health professional). Given the low homicide rates, there are
no strategies to prevent them. However, it can be seen in the town and in the
words of its people that the areas of security, education, health and social
management have been integrated with the aim of creating a safe and healthy
environment. There are also therapeutic communities in charge of treating people
with alcohol and drug problems and programs that focus on other questions the
local society deems more relevant, such as prevention of traffic accidents and
intrafamily violence.

To sum up, here
there is also a complex system of actions and interactions where causes and
consequences become stronger but, contrary to in Paulista, increase the effectiveness
of citizens' respect for life: there is a strong presence of external elements
(companies and the socioeconomic dynamic) which positively influence the social
system and the socialization of individuals.

Internal dynamics
of the two Argentine towns

It is important
to note that Argentine provinces, departments and towns present much lower homicide
rates generally than those in Brazilian regions, states and towns, and the differences
between the Argentine rates are also narrower. However, in the two cases studied
it was possible to see factors that explain the greater or lower homicide rates,
adjusted for the 2007 to 2009 three-year period. In the department of General
López (with a population of 200,000 inhabitants), in the Santa Fé
province, an agricultural region located in the country's center, we studied
the case of Venado Tuerto, where the rates are of 4.5/100,000 inhabitants. And
in the province of Mendoza, Argentina's wine region, the case study was carried
out in the town of San Rafael, with a slightly lower population than Venado
Tuerto and homicide rates of 3.9/100,000.

Venado Tuerto is
a regional reference for the health sector, the judiciary and the educational
system, hosting subsidiary branches of national universities. Over the course
of history, the town has been marked by two important facts: the construction
of a railroad, in the late 19th century, which made it possible for
immigrants to go work in rural areas; and in the second half of the 20th
century, strong industrial development in the metal-mechanical sector.

Around the urban
center, simple homes and residential compounds for workers emerged, creating
an irregular urban growth model and a climate of social mistrust in relation
to the places inhabited.

Homicide rates
are not high in Venado Tuerto if compared to Brazilian rates (4.5/100,000),
but there is a climate of insecurity in the town. Generally, interlocutors attribute
crimes to three main causes: a high degree of social inequality, as in this
agricultural region, wealth tends to be concentrated in the hands of a few families;
there is a sense of economic, social and moral decadence, expressed in a nostalgic
reading of the past and the recrimination of young people who tend to disobey
social rules by using drugs and fighting in rival gangs; and currently, when
the many immigrant workers arrive for soy cultivation in the region, the local
population feels suspicion and insecurity towards the "outsiders".

Apart from this
common picture of general explanations, the set of interviewees refers to a
deeper problem of disconnection and lack of dialogue in the management of institutions
that directly or indirectly deal with preventing violence and addressing the
damages and traumas it may cause. Several interlocutors, especially local managers,
complained about the judicial-police system, which answers to the provincial
government and does not coordinate with the municipality. Internally, to maintain
local security, they invest in gender violence prevention programs and urban
intervention strategies such as cleaning and public lighting.

However, the professionals
who work in the governmental programs and in the violence-prevention NGOs complain
about three points: lack of resources to perform necessary actions; an absence
of integration between organs; and low investment in the education of people
who should be forming a network to prevent and punish crime and delinquencies.
The local press was singled out for its role in solving crimes and publicizing
problems, demanding measures from the authorities.

Drug and alcohol
abuse, especially on weekends, was linked to fights which occasionally lead
to deaths, especially among young people, the social group that commits the
most crimes and dies the most from violence. However, as in the case of Jaraguá
do Sul, health professionals say that the greatest problems they face are drug
and alcohol abuse among young people and intrafamily violence.

To sum up, as a
whole, the Venado Tuerto interviewees point to a lack of common perspective
among the various public and non-governmental agencies, and a shortage of resources
for violence curbing and prevention programs, as the main causes of the climate
of insecurity experienced in the town.

The population
of the Department of San Rafaelis concentrated in the main town and
in the smaller mountain towns. Unlike Venado Tuerto, where violence prevention
policies are disconnected, here, the various interviewees (police officers,
educators, health professionals, managers, young people, professionals who work
in emergency services and journalists) attribute the low level of crimes and
conflicts to an organized violence prevention network which links provincial
and municipal agencies. For example, the police, as in all of Argentina, answer
to the provincial level, but are connected to the local government via community
policing and have a broad victim care program. All the local representatives
interviewed spoke of the relevance of preventing intrafamily violence which
they identified as the main problem, and from which spring fights, aggressions
and even deaths and of consolidating a network made up of all those who must
deal with the problem.

During the field
work it was possible to follow the actions of different agents and see that
there really is a security and social defense network, made up of the community
police and health and education professionals, which seeks to prevent violence
and care (from the medical and psychological point of view) for the people who
have suffered it. This set of actors believes that in the last few years drug
consumption has gone up, with repercussions in interpersonal violence, as have
traffic accidents, especially involving motorcycles. They say that aggression
statistics have increased on weekends (as was also seen in Venado Tuerto and
Paulista) and usually take place in the context of alcohol abuse and drugs.
The police officers highlighted that the many forms of delinquency are concentrated
in the town's periphery, where the poorer population lives.

To sum up, although
the statistics show little difference between death by homicide rates in San
Rafael and Venado Tuerto, in the latter, the local society feels much more insecurity,
which it attributes to a lack of collective efficacy on behalf of public and
non-governmental entities. Another important point to emphasize is that, in
this town, there are as many governmental entities as in San Rafael and more
non-governmental ones, although each one acts for itself. In San Rafael, on
the other hand, there are practically no governmental organizations directed
at violence prevention, because the public network is in charge of defense and
citizens' rights.

Discussion

From the situations
described above, we will emphasize four aspects: the question of communication,
local culture and history, the influence of the external environment and the
role of social interventions.

The first aspect
is the question of communication, a central element of the dynamism of complex
social systems1. This internal interaction movement constitutes what
Coleman9 calls social capital and is constructed and given
value by institutions and people. It is evident that in Jaraguá do Sul
and in San Rafael the social ties and internal relationships which promote social
solidarity have been internalized by culture; while in Paulista and Venado Tuerto
the dispersion of efforts stands out. In these two locations, there is no shortage
of proposals for consolidating a culture of peace. The empirical narratives
even suggest that they possess more socio-educational and public security programs
than in the first two towns. But the existence of social ties and social capital
does not explain, per se, the capacity for dealing with crime and homicides11:
they are necessary elements, but they are not enough. The most powerful concept
seems to be collective efficacy10,12, which highlights the importance
of communication networks to promote social control and cohesion among residents,
as can be seen in Jaraguá do Sul and San Rafael.

A second point
to be stressed is the importance of culture and local history11 in
the reproduction of values and their distribution among citizens, as this type
of relationship between the community and crime or delinquency is a long-lasting
phenomenon4, involving social and economic processes, the ways in
which the local society and the distribution of power developed. Looking at
the case of Paulista, it is clear that, apart from a saga in which cycles of
wealth and decadence alternated and succeeded each other, the social inequalities
in the town are historical and persistent, as the Gini index shows, and the
high crime rates are reinforced by various competing subcultures, values and
social structures. This set of factors reduces collective efficacy to tackle
problems, creates a feeling of surrender and impotence in face of crime, and
homicide is seen as an inevitable fatality.

As the authors
who study complex systems say, there is a reciprocity effect between
the behavior of the social system and that of the subjects: good schools, access
to jobs, and a clean, healthy and safe environment generate peaceful coexistence,
and people tend to seek these types of places to live in, as is reflected in
the words of the residents of Jaraguá do Sul. And vice-versa: fear and
insecurity generate a deficit of cohesion and participation in community life,
reducing people's will to engage in formal or informal social control, and a
form of cynicism towards legal norms develops, as can be seen in Paulista and
to a lesser degree in Venado Tuerto. In this social control vacuum, delinquents
tend to assume power and use cruel sanctions towards those who disrespect them,
creating thus a subculture of crime that is feared by all13,14. On
the contrary, in locations with low delinquency rates such as Jaraguá
do Sul and San Rafael, there is more consensus, uniformity and clarity as to
common values4, expressed in the lifestyle and nurtured by local
reference groups such as churches, families, companies and various associations.

A third point to
discuss is the influence of the external environment on the social system. It
is known that macroeconomic and macrosocial policies influence crime and informality
rates in violent locations. There is empirical evidence that deindustrialization
and removal of investment (as in the case of Paulista) result in a higher number
of unemployed and poor people, demographic instability, more precarious and
non-legalized housing and informal occupations. In these towns, as in a vicious
cycle, economic opportunities escape and the residents' territorial and social
isolation grows. But it's not only economic ventures that are scared away, so
is public power even if it is investing in social programs in places in economic
decline, it does so in an uncoordinated fashion.

Finally, it is
important to reflect on the role of social interventions in provoking changes
and reducing homicide rates. In this point, some Brazilian examples, although
they have occurred in slums and neighborhoods on the urban periphery and not
in towns, are interesting. One of the most successful cases we know of is the
intervention of the "Programa Fica Vivo" (Stay Alert Program) in the
state of Minas Gerais, which was aimed at reducing homicides in areas where
their concentration was high, combining preventive and repressive actions. The
preventive actions included community participation and social support for solving
local questions and a focus on proposals for and with young people. The repressive
actions were aimed at a quick response from the police and judicial system,
so as to increase the probability of apprehending arms and incarcerating delinquents.
The impact evaluation performed by Peixoto et al.15 indicates that
Fica Vivowas able to reduce crime and homicides in all six areas where
it was implemented, since 2002, although the results are different in each area.
Two observations should be made here: the first relates to the internal cohesion
of local societies and the different coverage of the program among residents,
which reinforces the idea that social reorganization and transformation are
possibilities and not certainties. The second observation springs from the evaluators'
findings that results tend to be better in the locations where the program has
been going for longer. This point highlights the important role of cultural
reproduction, which requires time to be consolidated.

Another emblematic
case in this study is what occurred in the city of São Paulo, where homicide
rates fell from 56.4 in 1996 to 14.9 in 200816. Although we must
exercise caution with explanations for the fall, some elements must be highlighted:
São Paulo presented a significant decline in homicide rates in all regions
of the city and in all socio-demographic groups, but the fall was most relevant
in the areas with greater social exclusion and among the group considered of
the highest risk: young men aged 15 to 24. This decline, according to analyses16,
led to the reduction of other inequities, as social and economic investments
in education, health, public security, population disarmament and integration
of residents in the various activities covered the areas of extreme exclusion.
This was the case with Jardim Ângela, for example, a slum with around
300,000 inhabitants in the periphery of São Paulo, which the UN once
considered the most violent location in the world (117 homicides per 100,000
inhabitants in 1996) and which saw a fall of 73.3% in the rates during this
period.

A third example
is the "Programa de Polícia Pacificadora" (Pacifying Police
Program, UPP) in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was always accompanied by
a broad policy called "Social UPP". This action has been responsible
for a sharp decline in homicide rates, which were 51.0 in 2000 and in 2010 had
fallen to 26.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, a drop of 46.9%17. Studies
separated by city areas show that in the regions where there are UPPs, homicides
fell by up to 77%18. It must also be highlighted that the Social
UPP joins efforts from the municipal, state and federal spheres as well as from
businesspeople, the education, health and environment areas and civil society.
Projects and programs have been planned for each territory already occupied
by the UPP, always based on the needs of the community, which acts in unison
with external forces in a communicative and interactive way. In the case of
Rio de Janeiro, we must also not forget the influence of important macroeconomic
factors that increased formal jobs and reduced informality in all its aspects.

All three examples
highlight investment both in crime coercion and social cohesion and, although
none of them can be transplanted, each in their own way demonstrates that seemingly
chronic historical processes of crime and homicide can be modified when internal
and external forces ally themselves in favor of life and social inclusion.

Conclusions

From the methodological
point of view it is important to highlight that, despite the discrepancies in
the situations and data of the four locations, the cases allow a reading about
what complicates and what promotes security, social defense and respect for
life. Police action, definitely only one of the elements to be considered, must
be present and preventive, effective and legal. In many cases, such as with
the programs Fica Vivo and UPP, due to the characteristics of the locations
where they were implemented, the coercive force must be imposed first, in an
operation where the state reclaims territory. However, there is no historical
example where police action by itself was effective in transformation.

A second important
conclusion is that, both in the locations with concentrated homicide rates and
in those presenting low rates, there is synergy between the external environment
(macrosocial and macroeconomic policies), the internal system (social organization,
local government and community participation) and the psychic system (the subjectivity)
of residents, whether in the construction of solidarity or in the responsibility
for social disintegration.

In a cumulative
effect, disadvantaged social spaces are less secure, receive less attention,
have fewer protection services and formal control always comes in the wake of
homicides and crime. Generally, even the forces of crime repression, in their
communication with the population, tend to treat residents with brutality and
cruelty, as if they deserved that behavior. Equally, in locations with high
homicide rates there is a visible negative reciprocity effect: an increase in
the consumption of illegal drugs; power struggles between drug traffickers or
rival gangs; a collapse of the public security system; increased unemployment,
especially among the young; low value given to formal education; a culture of
violence; disdain for social norms and legality; and the collapse of dissuading
factors.

A third point to
emphasize is that if a town has low homicide rates this does not mean it is
free from other forms of violence. For example, Jaraguá do Sul has elevated
rates of external causes (63.3/100,000), which must be looked at more deeply.
In all four towns, the interviewees pointed to a strong presence of intrafamily
violence (of a patriarchal nature), drugs, alcoholism and traffic accidents,
particularly involving motorcycles.

Finally, it is
important to highlight the need for a set of connected interventions when we
are dealing with high homicide rates: socioeconomic investments; quality education
and training, especially for young people, reflecting the requirements of the
labor market; effective social policies; citizen participation in community
actions and actions that strengthen citizenship, in convergence, confluence
and reciprocal empowering via networks that communicate and strengthen over
time no change happens from one day to the next. The culture of violence is
grounded in social structures and is reproduced in the consciousness of citizens,
becoming naturalized. For this reason, deconstructions are slow, but always
possible.

Collaborations

MCS Minayo and
P Constantino participated equally in all stages of preparation of the article.